1. What is the percentage of persons aged 60 and over now in industrialized nations?
A.4%—8%. | B.13%—20%. | C.10%—20%. |
A.We give them more money. |
B.We let them live alone. |
C.We take good care of them. |
A.Because they are rich in knowledge and experience. |
B.Because they don’t need any care. |
C.Because they don’t cause any trouble. |
A.Fame. | B.Money. | C.A deep sense of history. |
2 . COVID-19 shutdowns forced people out of work and pushed tens of millions into poverty worldwide. Governments tried hard to provide aid. It was easy in a small country, but difficult for a country with large population and vast rural areas.
Researchers have been finding ways to identify areas of wealth and poverty in satellite images. Through some satellite data and aerial images of one town or another, you can sort of tell whether it’s wealthy or not. Wealthier homes tend to have metal roofs while poor homes tend to have thatched roofs. Wealthier neighborhoods have paved roads and bigger plots of lands, more spaced out.
The researchers use the system to identify about 60,000 people to receive benefits. The advantage of the satellite imagery and phone data approach is that it’s extremely fast and very convenient.
A.It was opposite in a big country. |
B.How do they locate the neediest people? |
C.So there’s a lot of information in the images. |
D.Most importantly, it’s very cheap to carry out. |
E.Worse still, it’s not so economical as a house-to-house survey. |
F.However, in general, poorer people will just have feature phones. |
G.What the researchers did next was to target the neediest people in those regions. |
3 . New York, 11 July — The global population is projected to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022, and India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, according to World Population Prospects 2022, released on World Population Day.
“This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we expect the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and get amazed at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates (孕妇及儿童死亡率),” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.
World Population Prospects 2022 states that fertility (生育能力) has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 percent or more between 2022 and 2050, due to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, increasing rates of emigration.
“The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex and multidimensional,” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “Rapid population growth makes removing poverty, combating hunger and malnutrition (营养不良), and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult. On the contrary, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to health, education and gender equality, will contribute to reducing fertility levels and slowing global population growth.”
1. The underlined word “surpass” can be replaced by ______.A.overtake | B.overlook | C.overcome | D.overwhelm |
A.The concern for global problems is a shared responsibility. |
B.The only factor that affects those 61 countries’ populations is fertility. |
C.The fertility has been decreasing in recent decades around the world. |
D.The annual World Population Day is a milestone for global inhabitants. |
A.Critical and direct. | B.Difficult and apparent. |
C.Urgent and ambiguous. | D.Significant and complicated. |
A.The sharp decline of fertility. |
B.The current world population situation. |
C.The ways to achieve sustainable development goals. |
D.The celebration of the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. |
4 . Many economists argue that Canada could have developed economically with little facilitation of the settlers. But in my opinion the settlers were vital in the country’s development of economy.
Settlers in Canadian history provided labour force that was apparently lacking in the country. Due to the thriving timber (木材) industry that led to the arrival of foreigners, the local population could barely satisfy the international demand for the demand. Emery and Kenneth claimed that the settlers who came to Canada as mere loggers had an impact in the development of the economy. Indeed, the settlers helped the production of more volumes of timber leading to increase in incomes for the government.
Settlers created considerable storage facilities for fishing. It is through these preservation technologies that the country was able to exploit its rich fish industry and increase its exports. Fishing technology improved greatly with many technologies of deep sea fishing. The technologies that came with the settlers increased the trading potential of the country, which in turn increase the incomes for government.
The success of settlers who ventured in agriculture ended into increased urge by locals and the government to invest in agriculture. In Ontario, settlers began planting such plants as corn, vegetables and reared dairy cattle. In the Prairies, the settlers also invested in grain growing with wheat being the most profitable crop.
Canadian settlers also led to changes in social and economic policies of the land. Due to increased immigration, land became a debatable issue where many people did not access land in a fair manner. The Canadian authorities came up with a wise land policy. Settlers could buy large amount of land cheaply and later resell the lands at a proper profit. This increased the ability of the country to increase its agricultural profits by having a superior land system.
1. Which contribution of the settlers in Canada is not covered in the passage?A.Timber industry | B.Fishing industry. |
C.Agriculture. | D.Tourism. |
A.To give evidence of the lack of local population in history. |
B.To tell readers that the settlers were only common loggers. |
C.To prove what an important role settlers played in Canadian economy. |
D.To state that the thriving timber industry led to the arrival of foreigners. |
A.Canadian government urged settlers’ more invest in agriculture. |
B.Settlers’ success made the people and the government angry. |
C.Canadian government got inspiration from settler’s success in agriculture. |
D.To succeed in agricultural venture, settler had to cooperate with government. |
A.the reform of land policies |
B.the increase of immigration |
C.increasing amount of land |
D.their creation of a superior land system |
A. double B. intense C. pressures D. stock E. agriculture F. trapped G. withdrawal H. availability I. drive J. expanding K. rising |
Throughout history, people have fought bitter wars over political ideology, national sovereignty and religious expression. How much more
Less than three percent of the planet’s
Global
6 . Are you the only child in your family? If so, do you enjoy it or do you want more siblings(兄弟姐妹)?
On May 31, a key meeting of the Communist Party of China unveiled a policy that would allow all couples to have up to three children.
The move is expected to maximize the population's role in driving economic and social growth, since this is a critical time for China to transform the world's most populous country into a powerhouse(强国)with a quality workforce, according to the National Health Commission.
The three-child policy is also expected to prevent the decline in the nation's birthrate and address the challenge of a rapidly aging population, China Daily reported.
China's annual number of newborns has fallen for four years in a row. The country's total birthrate—the average number of children born to each woman—stood at 1.3 in 2020. The number is below the rate of 2.1 that would maintain a stable population, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The declining birthrate has also brought a sharp increase in the proportion of the population aged 60 or above, rising from 10.3 percent to 18.7 percent in the past decade. An increasingly elderly population will increase the cost of labor and the pressure on the social security net. It also means there will be a lack of young labor force. Therefore, it's not good for economic growth, according to Chen Youhua, a professor at Nanjing University.
In fact, the new birth policy is a step to further relax the family planning policy. The one-child policy was introduced in the 1970s and aimed to control the fast-growing population. Then in 2013, China allowed couples to have a second child if either parent was an only child, and in 2016, all couples were allowed to have two children.
However, not all people have shown their support for this latest policy. Many couples complained about the rising costs of raising a child. A netizen named Qinfeng commented, "High cost of education and both the physical and mental exhaustion stopped me from having more than one child." Also, many women are reluctant(不情愿的)to give birth because that could mean sacrificing their career prospects, according to Mu Guangzong, a professor at Peking University.
In that case, Mu noted that it is better to implement supporting measures with the three-child policy, such as more preferential(优惠的)policies for couples that would ease their parental burden.
1. What might NOT be the main cause for the new policy?A.To increase the population's role. |
B.To stop the declining birthrate. |
C.To improve the child- care service system. |
D.To address the challenge of the aging population. |
A.China's annual number of newborns has fallen for decades. |
B.The government will protect the legal rights of women in employment. |
C.Measures will be taken to improve the high-quality education. |
D.The new policy allows couples to have up to three children. |
A.To carry out. | B.To get along with. |
C.To make use of. | D.To have a command of. |
A.To show his love of children healthcare. |
B.To introduce the new family size policy. |
C.To share his concerns about birthrate. |
D.To emphasize the physical and mental exhaustion. |
How do you count 1.3 billion people in the middle of a pandemic? China, as the world's most populous country, will launch its seventh
According to state-run news agency Xinhua, the huge undertaking will see around 7 million census
As well as traditional methods, citizens will also
China conducts its census every 10 years. The last survey
This year's census may even show a decrease in
8 . Newly married couples can receive up to 600,000 yen to cover their rent and other costs to start a new life from next April if they live in a municipality adopting Japan's newlywed support program, government sources said Sunday.
As the nation's extremely low birth rate is mainly due to the tendency that people marry late or stay unmarried, the government will try to encourage marriages by enhancing(增强)the program to provide a larger sum and cover more couples, said the sources at the Cabinet Office.
To get the allowance, both husband and wife will have to be under age 40 at the registered date of marriage and have a combined income of less than 5.4 million yen, up from age 35 and 4.8 million yen under the current conditions for aid of up to 300,000 yen. Only 281 municipalities, or 15 percent of all cities, towns and villages in Japan, had adopted the program since July as they must shoulder half the expenses, but in a bid to increase the number, the central government will bear two-thirds from 2021, the sources said.
The program is part of government efforts to deal with the low birth rate as married couples tend to have two children,even though the average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime was 1.6 last year with a record-low 865,000 babies born.
An economic incentive(刺激)is considered effective to encourage people to marry since 29.1 percent of single men aged 25 to 34 and 17.8 percent of single women said that lack of marriage funds was a reason they stayed unmarried in a 2015 survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
1. Why does the government carry out newlywed support program?A.To pay the rent. | B.To reward singles. |
C.To pay the wedding fee. | D.To encourage marriages and births. |
A.Marriage age: < 25; combined income:< 4.8 million yen. |
B.Marriage age: < 35; combined income:< 4.8 million yen. |
C.Marriage age: < 40; combined income:< 5.4 million yen. |
D.Marriage age: < 50; combined income:< 3.0 million yen. |
A.1/3. | B.2/3. | C.1/2 | D.3/5. |
A.High rent. | B.Health level. |
C.More divorce. | D.Low marriage rate. |